Shoveling
by PaBurke
Summary: It started out as a tth pairing, and then just mutated. The Slayers' House in Cleveland has an interesting next door neighbor.
1. Chapter 1

Shoveling

By PaBurke

Pairing # 1077 Xander/ Dr. Benjamin Franklin Pierce MD (MASH) for TTH

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or universes or personalities or computers . . .

Spoilers: Post all of MASH, Post-Chosen

Word Count: 165

"You're doing it wrong."

Xander snarled at the old, cantankerous next-door neighbor. Stupid Cleveland with its stupid snow and stupid Slayer House with its stupid long driveway. He much preferred the Hellmouth to be in California.

Dr. Benjamin Franklin Pierce MD-Ret, 'just call me Hawkeye,' grinned at the hapless man that had slipped on the stupid ice. Xander wondered if the veteran had dressed for the cold just to come outside and harass his new neighbors.

Xander ignored the old man and stumbled to his feet. He slipped again but this time a strong hand on his elbow stopped his descent. Xander looked down at one of the newer Slayers.

Kathleen smiled at him, gently took the shovel from his hands and shooed him back to the house.

Xander heard Hawkeye mutter, "Then again, maybe not." Then the old man proceeded to give the young, pretty Kathleen several helpful hints on how to correctly shovel snow.

The old man certainly knew how to shovel it.


	2. Chapter 2

Spying

Word Count: 100

That Xander-person was interesting.

Xander snarked back. Hawkeye mused that it was like picking on his late wife, Margaret. They gave as good as they got, no matter the circumstances.

The girls were very pretty and they liked to run together in very short shorts. They were normally giggling or whispering but they could be serious. Who would blame Hawkeye for taking advantage of their generous nature and letting them take out his garbage or collect his mail or help shovel the snow from his driveway?

But all they kept horrible hours. Had he done that when he was young?

Seeing

Word Count: 100

It had taken three months to see it. Hawkeye had brushed off his observations as an active imagination or had over-estimated the harm broken homes had on the girls. His new neighbors housed troubled girls, no mistake, but something had always bothered Hawkeye about the young people next door.

They moved too smoothly, they saw too much, they laughed too often.

And they always remembered to smell the roses Hawkeye grew in the front of his house.

It had dawned on him this morning, when Kathleen had looked through the front window while smelling his roses.

She had soldier's eyes.

Seething

Word Count: 100

He had fumed for a month. Hawkeye had watched the girls and Xander. Each and every one of them had soldier's eyes. The more he watched, the more he was convinced. He was living next door to a bunch of war veterans with a whopping sixteen years under their belt. Some were older, and some were younger but for the most part, they were younger than the soldiers that had died on his operating table in Korea. He had despised the youth wasted then, he hated it more now.

To have hardened soldiers, there had to be a war.

Where?

Suspecting

Word Count: 100

He smelled the smoke first. It wasn't cigarette, cigar or marijuana. It was definitely coming from the Girl's Home. Hawkeye hurried over to their front door as fast as his old legs could carry him and knocked loud.

Kathleen opened the door, somewhat surprised to see him. "Dr. Hawk?"

"I smelled smoke."

Her eyes got wide and she giggled. It sounded forced. "That was Willow. She was helping Laura with her science experiment and it got out of hand."

"So everything's fine?"

A pause. "It will be soon. I promise, Dr. Hawk."

Girls that young shouldn't need to make promises.

Screaming

Word Count: 100

Hawkeye was old.

He didn't need much sleep. He liked puttering around in the wee hours. An advantage of the country was how bright the stars were at night. Hawkeye liked sitting in a lawn chair and observing the stars.

That's what he had been doing tonight when the screaming had started.

Hawkeye moved fast, straight for the tent set up in the neighbor's yard. One of the older girls from the house beat him to the pup-tent. Hawkeye knew he had slowed down, but man, was she fast.

Laura held Kathleen tight and murmured reassurances.

The screams still echoed.


	3. Chapter 3

Spilling

Word Count: 100

The blood made the floor slippery. It was pouring, spilling out the hurt Slayer and onto the floor. Xander was holding a clean -sopping- bandage against the wound.

"Don't die," he chanted, "Don't die."

Laura was holding her down, making sure her flailing arms did not hit Xander. "She won't last to the hospital," she whispered. They both knew the truth.

Xander ignored Laura. "Call Willow!" he ordered.

"Can't get a hold of her!" someone answered, whimpered.

Then the injured Slayer whispered something.

Xander looked to Laura. "What?"

Her face was white, "Dr. Hawk."

Xander made the decision. "Get him."

Shocking

Word Count: 100

Pounding woke him up.

"Dr. Hawk!" someone yelled. "Dr. Pierce! We need help!"

Hawkeye stumbled out of bed and jerked open his back door.

Laura stood there. Her face was white and blood covered her from head to toe. She rubbed at a speckle of blood on her cheek but her hands were dripping with blood. It smeared. "We need help, please."

Hawkeye wanted to stop and stare but old instincts -training kicked in. "My bag's in the top drawer of the dresser by my bed."

Laura shot into his house without an invitation and left Hawkeye in the doorway.

Stumbling

Word Count: 100

He couldn't see in the dark anymore. Hawkeye stumbled to the gate between his yard and the neighbors, his mind whirling. At this point, he didn't bother wondering 'how' the blood had been separated from his soon-to-be patient. He was reviewing 'how' he would help his patient survive.

He was almost there when he saw Laura jump the fence. She had unbelievable height but she missed her landing. She scrambled to her feet and to Hawkeye's position. She grabbed his arm and pulled toward the open door, to the light shining in the dark, to the frantic bustling inside.

"Hurry."

Stitching

Word Count: 100

In. Out. In. Out.

The rhythm never faltered. His hands trembled slightly but his iron will overrode the involuntary action.

In. Out. In. Out.

Xander and one of the other girls carried a vat of boiling water into the kitchen. They pulled out all Hawkeye's instruments, now sterilized.

Doctor Hawkeye Pierce looked up to his assistant, Laura. "Give me the third one from the right." She handed it to him.

In. Out. In. Out.

The bleeding was slowing. Hawkeye didn't know if his patient didn't have enough blood to keep bleeding or if his work was starting to have effect.

Saving

Word Count: 100

"Well?" Xander asked.

"She needs blood," Hawkeye announced.

One girl stood apart from the others. "I have the same blood type."

"Nothing nasty?" At one time, he didn't have to ask the question.

"No."

"Come with me."

She followed.

Hawkeye set up his equipment. "What's your name?"

She spouted a long string of consonants, "But everyone calls me J.M."

He slid the needle into her vein.

"Tell me if you start to feel light-headed."

"I won't. Take a lot, take it fast. I can handle it."

"We'll see. Kathleen's a fighter. She'll last until I can get this in her."


	4. Chapter 4

Speaking

Word Count: 150

"Hey, Dr. Hawk."

He had been checking her pulse when Kathleen whispered. He dropped her hand in surprise. "You're awake."

She smiled tiredly. "Little."

"Let me check your pupils." They dilated perfectly. "You're healing very nicely, Kathleen."

She didn't meet his eyes. "Did they say what got me?"

"You don't know?" Hawkeye was skeptical.

Kathleen shook her head hesitantly. "Don't remember."

"Xander told me it was a mugger, a druggie desperate for cash."

"Did . . . get 'im?" She was succumbing to sleep.

"Not yet."

She moved to get out of bed. "Get 'im," she mumbled.

Hawkeye held her down. "Oh, no you don't. I just stitched together every major organ in your abdomen. You are not going to chase anybody for a couple weeks, let alone the day after your surgery. Let the authorities handle it."

"Am 'thority," his patient slurred.

"Rest, Kathleen." Laura stood in the doorway. "We got him."

Screaming II

Word Count: 100

Hawkeye dragged Xander outside. Xander let him. "Tell me what happened. A mugger doesn't leave the marks of a mountain lion."

"You don't want to know."

"She almost died!"

"She wouldn't have been the first and she wouldn't have been the last," Xander retorted.

"I want to know."

Xander sat tiredly on the grass. "A Bride of Dracula. Vamp could shape-shift into a big cat."

Hawkeye shook with frustration. "I want the truth!"

"Fine! A mountain lion escaped from some idiot who kept it as a pet. Kathleen got in its way."

"Now you are lying."

"Make up your mind!"

Shocking II

Word Count: 100

Dr. Hawkeye Pierce sat in the car alone. Xander and five girls stood at various sentry points surrounding the car. He had been given explicit instructions. He was not allowed to leave the car. He fiddled with the small container of Holy Water Xander had asked him to pick up in preparation for tonight.

Something happened to Hawkeye's left. Two girls ran into the woods, minutes later they returned with a struggling man in between. They braced him again the car.

"Holy Water?" Xander reached into the car.

Hawkeye handed it over.

And watched the man turn into a monster.

Speaking II

Word Count: 100

"Dr. Pierce? Dr. Hawk?"

"Did we break him?"

"Told you he was too old to learn about vamps."

"His heart couldn't take it, maybe?"

"Dr. Hawk? You in there? Blink if you hear me."

"We did break him."

"What are we going to do with Kathleen if he's broken? How do we explain to a hospital how she'd been stitched?"

Kathleen.

His patient.

Needed him.

Kathleen.

Hawkeye slowly shook his head. "The man . . . turned . . . into a . . ."

"Vampire?" Xander offered.

"Then . . ."

"Went poof?" Laura filled in.

"You were telling the truth."

"Now, he believes," Xander threw his hands in the air.

Seething II

Word Count: 100

Death had always been his personal enemy. Hawkeye had become a doctor to fight it. He had been good at stealing young men back from Death, exceptional even.

All along Death must have been laughing at him.

Because little girls had been out there, protecting humanity.

Dying.

Alone.

With no one fighting for them.

Saving them.

Their cause was more than ridiculed; it was ignored and rationalized away.

Still they fought, one after another through the centuries.

How many Slayers had died in his lifetime? How many had saved the world and he hadn't even heard a whisper?

_No more_.


	5. Chapter 5

Spying II

Word Count: 160

Hawkeye had been given the place of honor to watch. One of the girls had dragged an easy chair from the living room to the kitchen. At first he had argued that the chair blocked the hallway but after the third girl had jumped over him with ease, he shut up.

Here they were just girls getting ready for school. Running, yelling, stomping up and down the stairs. It was a mad house. He was exhausted just watching the girls.

Xander tossed a pair of keys in Hawkeye's lap. "Lock up when you leave, 'kay Doc?"

"I'm not leaving Kathleen alone."

Xander snickered and pointed out the window. "You're not."

Hawkeye looked.

There the group of girls walked to the bus stop. Walked. These girls normally sprinted but they were slowing down so that Kathleen wouldn't hurt herself trying to keep up.

Forget trying to keep up . . .

"What the hell does she think she's doing?"

"Going to school?" Xander offered.

Softening

Word Count: 100

It was a torn piece of notebook paper taped to his back door. The words were written in a flowery, loopy handwriting. They were such girls sometimes, when they were not being Chosen warriors.

'Laura's cooking. Made enough for you.'

Hawkeye smiled. Dinner would be nice. Not cooking himself was nicer. As an invite, well, it was to the point and he'd seen worse. Hawkeye grinned, in his heyday, he'd offered worse to the nurses. He reached up and snagged the note. The postscript on the back caught his eye.

'If you're good, I'll let you check my stitches.

-Kathleen.'

Seeing II

Word Count: 100

"What are you feeding, an army?" Hawkeye blurted out when he saw the table spread. Food covered every part. The rolls that he had brought over were thrown on top of the already full bowl.

Most girls giggled. Xander laughed. Hawkeye realized that they were all amused at the truth in his words. He had seen the girls in action. He had seen them take down a vampire with negligent ease. He had seen them work together.

He had seen their wounded eyes.

But it took seeing all the food the girls were about to consume to see the army.

Seating

Word Count: 100

Xander sat at the head of the table, Laura the foot. Hawkeye quickly got the impression that Laura sat there for more than easy access to the kitchen. Most of the other girls deferred to her and they all deferred to Xander.

Hawkeye was to Laura's right and Kathleen sat beside him. JM was across the table from him, on Laura's left. The other girls filled in the spots to Xander, the youngest next to the young man. Hawkeye wondered if they knew what they revealed by taking their customary seats.

What they revealed by putting Hawkeye where they did.

Schooling

Word Count: 100

The girls were very free with their conversations. They gossiped about everything; some of their topics were crude and risqué. Xander never chided them, he let them voice their opinions on the current subject.

The current subject just happened to be sex.

Hawkeye was no prude. He had gone through most of the nurses before marrying Margaret and Margaret was always one for enjoying sexual gymnastics.

Still . . .

"Just how, precisely, does one accomplish that?"

Jaws dropped.

One of the girls at the other end of the table covered her eyes. "Old people talking about having sex. I'm scarred for life."

Schooling II

Word Count: 110

Hawkeye's question prompted a quick subject change to Slaying.

What worked best with what monster, and what would happen to said monster when the correct tool was utilized. Hawkeye learned much listening to all the shoptalk. He knew most solutions were outside his physical abilities, but it was all interesting.

And as Laura pointed out 'the assist' –passing the correct weapon to the correct Slayer- was as important as doing the Slaying yourself.

All in all, Hawkeye discovered one very important fact: It was a damn good thing that he had a doctor's constitution. Because he didn't know where the closest bathroom was if the current story churned his stomach.


	6. Chapter 6

Sipping

Word Count: 100

Xander's offer of a beer had been an escape from dinner clean up. Hawkeye had accepted. Now they sat across from each other in the living room. Hawkeye could hear the muted sounds of the girls as they laughed and bickered through the chore.

"How do you do it?" Hawkeye asked.

Xander smiled sadly. "If I don't, who will?"

Hawkeye nodded. He winced at the next sip of beer. "Do you have any gin?"

"Gin? No."

"Oh. If I set up a still over here would the girls swipe some of the results?"

Xander laughed. "Hell, yeah."

"So, can I?"

Suspecting II

Word Count: 100

Something was happening.

Xander had initially denied Hawkeye's request, because Drunk Slayers quickly became Dead Slayers, but when the doctor had struggled to his feet to get circulation moving, Xander questioned the logistics of a gin still.

The sounds of dishwashing had ended but no girls had joined Xander and Hawkeye.

The sounds of giggling and amusement had increased.

Hawkeye accommodated Xander. He told stories of Korea, making Xander laugh.

But Xander's eyes kept straying back toward the door.

Something was happening.

But what? And why was everyone trying to hide it from Hawkeye? What secret didn't Hawkeye already know?

Sharing

Word Count: 100

"Xander."

"Dr. Hawk?"

"What's going on?"

"On? Why nothing, Doc."

Hawkeye gave Xander a look Colonel Potter used to give him and B.J.

Xander smiled. "Can you wait?"

"It's not like I can grow old, I'm already there."

Xander laughed.

"Xander."

"Dr. Hawk?"

"What's going on?"

"You're not very patient."

"That's what I have hurt people for."

Xander looked confused.

Hawkeye got frustrated. "You know, patience, patients? Never mind, what are you and the gals hiding?"

"How would you like to get a paycheck for helping us?"

Hawkeyed stared. "You're nuts."

"Are you refusing to help?"

"Hell, no."

"Then paycheck?"

Shocking III

Word Count: 100

"Paycheck? At my age?"

"You'll earn it." Xander promised.

"This feels like I'm being drafted, only with emotional blackmail."

"Whatever's best for the girls. You are really good. You rocked with the parts of Kathleen we had on that kitchen table."

"You need someone younger, who knows and can use the latest technology. Someone who has good contacts with the local hospital and medical community."

"We have you. The girls like you. You are our number-one draft pick."

Hawkeye grimaced. "At least, the government isn't forcing me."

"We can ask the President to make it an order."

"A joke, right?"

Sharing II

Word Count: 100

"We have to ask the others before you can get a paycheck."

"A paycheck's not necessary, Xander," Hawkeye said.

"Fine," Xander grinned. "I want to brag to the others that I recruited the most useful new member for the year."

Hawkeye winced. "It's sad that an old, retired man is going to be the most useful member joining."

Xander stopped and stared at Hawkeye in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? I'm bringing a war doctor to the table. Giles will be thrilled and the other Girls' Houses will be drooling with envy. But first we have to vote you in."


	7. Chapter 7

Screening

Word Count: 100

The communications room had flat-screen monitors hung on every wall. The vast majority of the framed faces were female. Hawkeye shouldn't have been surprised but he was.

"He's old," the blonde from 'Rome' diagnosed.

"So's Giles," the 'Brazilian' redhead countered.

"Is he as useful as Giles?" the blonde asked.

Xander was quick to defend. "He saved Kathleen's life and didn't freak out too bad when a vampire went poof in front of him."

"He's a government plant," a young man with spiky hair exclaimed.

Hawkeye choked. "Hell no."

"Sorry Andrew, he's not," the redhead said. "I checked."

"All in favor?"

Swearing In

Word Count: 100

"Aye!" most chorused.

"I abstain!" Andrew pronounced.

Most of the other representatives rolled their eyes. For an International organization that protected the Earth, Hawkeye found them incredibly relaxed.

"The overwhelming majority has voted 'Aye'," Giles pronounced.

"And one abstaining vote," Andrew reminded.

Giles continued as if the young man hadn't spoken. "Dr. Pierce, we welcome you to the Watcher's Council."

"Now it's time for the swearing in," the brunette with Buffy bounced excitedly.

Hawkeye looked to Xander. "What would you swear on?"

He was met with an evil grin. Looking around, all he saw was evil grins.

Oh-oh.

"Scooby Dance!"

Scaring

Word Count: 100

Hawkeye didn't know what scared him more: that the government knew that vampires existed or that they considered Xander and his girls experts and stayed mostly out of the way. Since when did any administration, big or little, show wisdom?

Or maybe . . .

What could possibly convince an administration to keep a hands-off policy but a SNAFU? How big a mess-up would have to happen before the federal government would release control? Not that they weren't trying to court every one of the girls given half a chance . . .

But how big? How deadly?

Suddenly, Hawkeye feared. Had they learned the lesson?

Scolding

Word Count: 150

Smiles greeted Hawkeye's presence, as if he hadn't dropped in unannounced at two in the morning.

"Dr. Hawk, everything okay?" asked Laura.

"No."

Everyone looked worried. More than one reached for their weapons.

"You girls went on patrol," he growled. "And not a one stopped by to tell me that no one was hurt." His eyes examined each face. He stopped at one very pale one. "JM?"

"Zeroes in on a hurt Slayer faster than a master vamp," Kathleen whispered to Laura.

Laura nodded in agreement.

"JM, come with me. Laura, from now on, I want every girl who patrols to see me before going to bed."

"We didn't want to wake you up."

Hawkeye snorted. "My light was on, you knew I was awake."

"It's not that bad Dr. Hawk," JM tried to demur.

"I'm the doctor," Hawkeye snapped. "Let me decide. And if you argue, I'll tell Xander."


	8. Chapter 8

Scolding II

Word Count: 100

"You forgot about me, didn't you?"

Hawkeye nearly had a heart attack. The voice came from the shadowed corner of his back porch. A figure shifted, groaned and tried to stand. By now, Hawkeye recognized his clumsy gate and moved to assist. The elderly man grasped onto Hawkeye's arm for support, Hawkeye returned the favor. He had to tighten his hand around the arm to feel the aging form underneath. At his feet, Hawkeye kicked the mostly empty suitcase.

That explained all the layers. "Did you put on every piece of clothing you brought?" he teased.

"It's cold out here!"

Sipping II

Word Count: 150

Hawkeye scurried around his kitchen, urging the stove and the coffee maker to work faster. His visitor was chilled to the bone and at his age, it just was not healthy. He threw a pair of frozen dinners into the oven, musing that they were somehow appropriate; they always reminded him of Korean camp food, only with more taste.

His visitor was sitting at his kitchen table pouting, shivering, sipping his hot coffee.

"I am sorry," Hawkeye offered. "I don't know how I managed to forget." Well, he did, but he couldn't share. Council business managed to suck up all his time. Meetings and more meetings; Hawkeye had the nasty feeling that Giles was grooming him for a bigger role and Hawkeye couldn't seem to be irreverent enough to dissuade the leader.

Thick glasses hid his visitor's eyes. "You are getting old, Hawkeye."

Hawkeye grinned. "I'm glad you're here, Radar."

Shoveling II

Word Count: 150

He had a new respect for Xander and girls. He understood them so much more now. Walter 'Radar' O'Reilly was visiting him and Hawkeye was doing his best to keep his friend far away from the supernatural. Oh, he knew that his friend could handle it; Radar was a veteran, but Hawkeye would prefer that he didn't have to.

Hawkeye couldn't believe all the Council . . . stuff that had collected around his house. Kathleen regularly left demon books at his house, and he still hadn't cleaned up from distilling the anti-venom that JM had needed last month. So now that was set up next to his gin still and his gin still was dusty because he couldn't afford for something else to make his hands shake . . .

But he was a good liar and Radar was an honest soul.

Two weeks down, two to go.

And Radar would leave none the wiser.

Scaring II

Word Count: 150

"He's cute, you know, for an old guy."

Hawkeye laughed as hard as Radar blushed.

"Does he know as much as you do about sex?"

Radar blushed harder.

Hawkeye snickered.

"'Cause, you know, that last trick you mentioned works great."

Hawkeye stopped snickering and looked at the young Slayer, Kate, astonished.

"Not that I tried it, mind you, but Laura told Nina who told Faith who went bar-hopping to find the perfect guy to experiment on and she did, I guess, 'cause Nina said that the guinea pig has been calling the S. . . Girl's House for two weeks straight and Faith wants to know if you know of any more tricks. Hasn't she called you?"

Wordlessly Hawkeye shook his head.

"Oh," Kate looked disappointed. She glanced at the clock and her jaw dropped. "Crud. I'm going to be late."

The door slammed.

"She's as scary as Major Houlihan."

Sputtering

Word Count: 100

"How many children did you and Beth have? Five?"

Radar sputtered. "That's besides the point. We were married. It was six."

"How old are you, Radar? Still blushing at the mention of sex?"

"That's besides the point, Hawkeye. She's just a girl. She's not married and . . . you really shouldn't talk to her about sex."

"She started it."

"Hawkeye!"

The retired doctor grinned. It was still just as fun, getting Radar worked up about something. He leaned back and sighed. "Margaret loved that move. Telling them her favorite bed secrets is as close to sex as I'm going to get."

"Hawkeye!"

Seeing III

Word Count: 100

Hawkeye, JM and Radar were star-gazing. JM was fidgeting. Radar was fidgeting. Hawkeye had already asked JM if she was okay. She had responded with a curt 'fine.' But why was Radar shifting every other second?

Finally Radar stopped.

"Yes, Radar?" Hawkeye prompted.

"It's nothing."

"Radar!"

"It's just . . . I have the same feeling that I used to . . . in Korea . . . that wounded were incoming. But that's impossible."

JM's eyes were automatically drawn to the fence between Hawk's house and the Girls'.

Just in time to see Laura and Kathleen jump the fence.

JM sprinted into the house for Hawkeye's black bag.


	9. Chapter 9

Saving II

Word Count: 100

A vampire nest.

A trap.

Multiple wounded.

The survivors were white-faced.

They were gathering weapons to retaliate.

Hawkeye was gathering up the pieces of the five broken Slayers and trying to put them back together. He was barking orders. Xander, Kathleen, JM and Radar were following them. Radar had fallen into the rhythms of a MASH unit as if he was still stationed in Korea. He hadn't forgotten anything significant. Had he been reliving it every night?

Radar.

He hadn't asked any questions.

Yet.

He'd wait until the five broken Slayers were in recovery.

Hawkeye was looking forward to it.

Speaking III

Word Count: 100

"Hawkeye, you're running low on bandages, IV's, and antibiotics."

Exhausted, collapsed on a couch, Hawkeye looked at Radar, a clipboard in his hand. Xander nudged the doctor's arm. "Why isn't he wigging? Everyone freaks out once."

"He's got his lists. He was a supply officer in the war. A damn fine one."

Xander blinked at Hawkeye and with a smile turned to Radar. "How would you like a job complete with a paycheck?"

Now Radar looked uncertain. He adjusted his glasses. "I want to know what's going on. You're not doing anything illegal, are you?"

"Nope. Just saving the world."

Speculating

Word Count: 150

Xander watched Radar flit around the living room, creating lists, taking inventory and muttering to himself. JM was at his right hand, on call to make sure Radar didn't lift anything heavy.

Doctor's orders.

Hawkeye stepped behind Xander to see what fascinated the younger man. Radar was just being Radar, organizing everything to the most useful result.

"He stutters," Xander muttered.

Hawkeye grunted and took another sip of coffee. It was much better than anything he had ever had in Korea; the advantage of a war being fought by a civilian company.

"He blushes. He's socially inept, but no SciFi references."

Hawkeye still found no reason to answer.

Xander finally turned around to look at Hawkeye. "You're absolutely sure that he's not related to Andrew?"

"Yes."

"Damn," the one-eyed man swore. "I was hoping that this was an indication that Andrew might be useful by the time he gets old."

Screaming III

Word Count: 100

The pounding on his door woke Hawkeye from his nap. Yes, he napped, normally early afternoon while the girls were in school. He had his pride.

If his neighbors had a true emergency, they would have used the hidden key or just broken down the door. Hawkeye respected Xander's carpentry skills. The man had had to replace Hawkeye's back door twice.

So now he was awake, grouchy. Radar must have been sleeping too, since he hadn't answered the door.

Someone was still pounding.

It was Xander.

"What!" Hawkeyed yelled.

"You didn't tell me Radar was a Seer," Xander yelled back.

Schooling III

Word Count: 100

"Don't be ridiculous." That was the first thing Hawkeye said after he recovered from his shock. "Radar's not a seer. Seers don't exist."

Xander rolled his eyes. "Sure they don't. Neither do vampires or slayers, demons or witches . . ."

"There's no need to get sarcastic," Hawkeye interrupted.

"Radar knows stuff before it happens. QEG, Radar is a seer."

"QED," Hawkeye quietly corrected.

Xander waited impatiently. "Well, what have you to say for yourself?"

Hawkeye glared. "Give me a moment. I'm still processing the whole 'Seers exist.'"

Xander rolled his eyes again. "Hurry up, will ya? You're normally much faster than this."


	10. Chapter 10

Speculating II

Word Count: 100

"JM said that Radar knew that wounded were coming to the Slayer House before they even arrived," Xander explained.

Giles, seen through the videophone, took off his glasses and wiped them off. "Fascinating."

Xander waited a beat. "Fascinating? That's it?"

"I'm waiting for more information, Xander," said Giles. "Dr. Pierce, I'm guessing that this is more than a one-time occurrence?"

Hawkeye nodded. "Radar always knew when causalities were incoming, before any of the rest of us could hear the choppers. He always had all the right paperwork done before being ordered and what words his CO were about to say."

Speaking IV

Word Count: 100

"I won the contest, right?" asked Xander.

"Contest?" Hawkeye repeated.

"There's a contest for who can recruit the most useful people into the Watchers Council and Seers are always useful."

"What am I?" the retired veteran quizzed. "Chopped liver."

"Nope." Xander's grin was cheeky. "Chopped Doc."

"Now Xander," said Giles. "We'll have to see the extent of Mr. O'Reilly's capabilities. Though he will very useful in organizing your Slayer House, which is always in a bit of disarray . . ."

"Hey!" Xander protested.

" . . . To be named the Most Useful, we'll have to test O'Reilly. See that he can See . . . useful things."

Screening II

Word Count: 100

"How am I supposed to know that?" Radar asked, rather frustrated.

Hawkeye glanced from the picture in his hands to Xander. It was a very good question, in the doctor's opinion.

Xander was glaring at Giles' face magnified on the tele-conference screen. "I'm getting Phantom Menace flash-backs."

Giles flushed slightly. "Mr. O'Reilly, please just toss out a guess of what Hawkeye is looking at."

Radar threw up his hands. "Fine. A spaceship."

Hawkeye's eyebrows raised and he showed his friend the . . . spaceship.

"Very Phantom Menace like."

"Yes, well, no one could top Andrew in suggestions to test Mr. O'Reilly's abilities."


	11. Chapter 11

Squeezing

AN: A (very good) idea tossed out by a reviewer. Hope you like how it manifested, ZephyrRS.

Word Count: 150

The 'Seer' meandered around the yard when he heard a slight sound. Radar followed the sniffles to the back building of the Slayer House. There he found Kate.

The last time he had chatted with the teen, she had been teasing, chipper and trying to assert some adult-ness. Now the girl was hiding in a dark corner, curled up and squeezing the stuffin' out of a stuffed rhino. Kate spotted Radar soon after he spotted her.

She wiped her tears and tried to hide her stuff animal.

Radar leaned against the wall by her side. He would have sat next to her but he might never stand again if he crouched down.

"You won't tell, will you?" Kate nearly begged.

"Miss Kate, I took a teddy bear to Korea."

"Really?"

"You can ask Hawkeye. I would show you but the poor bear barely survived the war, I left it behind."

Schooling IV

Word Count: 150

"So it's okay to sleep with a stuffed animal?" Kate asked yet again.

Radar reassured her yet again. "Yes, it is."

"You sure? The other Slayers will tease me."

"Maybe."

"Don't tell me you haven't heard the story of Mr. Gordo?" Xander added from the doorway. Both Kate and Radar were surprised to see him there.

Kate blushed and pretended that Xander hadn't heard their conversation.

Radar asked the question. "Who's Mr. Gordo?"

Xander was looking straight at Kate when he answered. "Buffy's stuffed pig."

"Buffy Summers?" Kate looked flabbergast. "She has a stuffed pig?"

"Had," Xander corrected. "All through . . . everything. But it didn't make it out of Sunnydale."

"And you didn't buy her a new one?" Kate was insulted on the Eldest Slayer's behalf. The fourteen-year-old got a determined glint in her eyes.

Xander got a scared one in his.

And Radar? Radar was just confused.

Shopping

Word Count: 200

Kate pouted in the back seat. Xander kept glancing at her through the rear-view mirror, worriedly. Even Radar was disappointed in the results of their shopping expedition. Who knew that shops didn't sell stuffed pigs? Dogs, cats, and bears, but no pigs.

And Kate was horrified at the idea of buying Buffy anything but a stuffed pig.

Radar agreed with the sentiment. He looked out the window. "How 'bout that one?" He pointed at a store up ahead.

"Tractor Supply®?" Kate asked doubtfully.

"Wouldn't hurt to try," Xander pulled into the parking lot. He was, of course, on a mission to lighten a Slayer's depression. If he could help two Slayers, so much the better.

Kate dawdled getting out of car, but sprinted around the guys to be the first into the store. By the time Xander and Radar stepped inside, a sales-woman was pointing to a back corner and Kate was bouncing with excitement. Xander thanked the woman on Kate's behalf and then followed the little Slayer.

"So which one looks like Mr. Gordo?" Kate had her arms full of options.

There was no contest. "This one."

The wattage in Kate's smile could have kept Cleveland lit for days.

Sending

Word Count: 100

"No peanuts."

Xander eyed the determined girl –who happened to be a Slayer- and was brave enough to argue. "We have to pack it some way."

"No," Kate repeated. "We're not sending just anything . . . it's impersonal. No peanuts."

"There's the blanket that Doc Hawk operated on. The washing machine ripped it up good taking out the blood," Laura offered.

Kate thanked the elder Slayer with her eyes before hurrying to the washroom for said blanket. When she returned with the blanket, Xander thought that the rips looked more handmade than washer-induced.

He was wise enough to keep his mouth shut.

Seeing IV

Word Count: 150

"Package for you."

Buffy barely looked up from the sword she was sharpening.

"From Cleveland," Dawn tried to perk her sister's curiosity. She didn't know what was worse for Buffy: being with the Scoobies or being away from the Scoobies.

"Uh-huh."

Dawn sighed and threw the box at Buffy's head. Buffy caught it one-handed and set it by her side on the couch. Dawn bounced to Buffy's other side. "Open it already!"

Buffy rolled her eyes but reached for the package. The sword made short work of the tape. Buffy flipped the blanket open carelessly.

She caught her breath.

Bit her lip.

Dawn only saw a hint of pink fur. She leaned closer as Buffy pulled out the stuffed pig. Then Buffy smiled sadly and pulled out a second pig, this one with black and white fur.

Buffy hugged both pigs.

So tight, oh, so tight.

Dawn saw it all.


	12. Chapter 12

Sharing III

Word Count: 100

"Xander, phone." Laura held the cordless out to the young man, her face white. "It's Buffy."

Xander paled slightly, accepted the phone and walked out of the room.

Hawkeye leaned into JM. "What's wrong?"

She whispered back to him. "Buffy's . . . the Oldest. Do you realize how many apocalypses she's stopped?" Hawkeye heard the awe, the hero-worship in her voice.

"So? Wasn't Xander there too? Aren't they friends?"

"They've had . . . problems. Buffy participates in Council meetings, but nothing personal. She has never, ever called the land line before."

"If it was Council bad news, wouldn't she use the Council line?"

"Yes."

Softening II

Word Count: 100

"Xander."

"Hey, Buff!" he greeted his friend. "What's up?"

"I . . . got your package."

Xander smiled wryly. "Was it . . . okay?"

"More than okay. Buckets-full more."

"Good. Good." There was an awkward pause. "I can't take credit, Kate insisted we do it."

This pause was more sad than anything else. "I don't know Kate, do I?"

"No. She's new."

"Oh. But she never saw Mr. Gordo."

Xander fidgeted. He was thankful that Buffy couldn't see through the telephone. "Someone had to drive her around."

"Put her on, would you? And Xander . . . thanks."

"You're welcome."

The ice between them melted a little bit.

Speculating III

Word Count: 100

The tantrums, the silences, the mood swings; for Hawkeye they added up to something different than it did for Xander.

Xander tried to accommodate Ellen and discipline her as best as he could. He even took her off the Patrol Schedule. Hawkeye knew that they were worried for her sanity. Whispers of 'Dana' had floated around.

But Hawkeye saw Ellen's shoulders relax each night when the girls left without her.

He wished for Colonel Potter and his wisdom and experience.

Hawkeye was no Colonel Potter and neither was Radar.

If he was correct in his diagnosis, what would he do?

Sharing IV

Word Count: 100

"Ellen?"

The brunette turned from the window. She had been watching every other Slayer go 'out' for Patrol. She smiled weakly at Hawkeye. "Hey, Dr. Hawk."

He held up a shoebox full of black-n-white photos. "Help an old man sort his memories?"

She shrugged. "Why not?"

Many of the pictures were of his wife, so beautiful as well as photogenic. The memories, the 'Olympics,' the doctors, patients, and natives; it all came rushing back. For a while, he was lost in the past and had forgotten his initial reason for approaching Ellen.

But then, his trap snapped close.

"Who's this?"

Spilling II

Word Count: 200

Hawkeye grinned at the picture. The dark-haired, dark-skinned male Lebanese dressed a light-colored taffeta dress, complete with accessories. "That's Corporal Klinger."

"He's wearing a dress," Ellen stated curiously.

"He was bucking for a Section 8."

"A Section 8?"

"The crazy charge," Hawkeye explained. "He wanted the Army to declare him crazy and send him home. He hated the war."

Ellen remained silent, but Hawkeye knew she heard what he wasn't saying.

"Did it work," she finally asked.

Hawkeye grinned. "Nope. Colonel Potter saw right through it. He started complimenting Klinger on some of his dresses. As long at it didn't interfere with his duties, Klinger was free to wear whatever he pleased. He often wore a nurse's uniform into surgery."

"What ended happening to Corporal Klinger?"

"That's the funniest part of the story. He fell in love with a native girl, one who had been separated from her parents. So he volunteered to stay longer in Korea to marry and to help her find her family."

"Oh."

Hawkeye wasn't sure if he had said enough or if he should keep talking. Ellen stayed quiet but tears spilled out of her eyes.

"It's okay to be scared."

Ellen silently walked away.

Spying III

Word Count: 300

Hawkeye kept looking through his pictures after Ellen walked away. Margaret had kept in touch with many of the MASH unit. Klinger and his lovely wife had, five years after the war, moved to Chicago. They had had a big family. BJ and Peg had raised two children. Last Hawkeye had heard, they were enjoying their grand and great grandchildren. Winchester, Hawkeye snorted. The crotchety doctor had become the quintessential crotchety old man. He had become the chief surgeon with a good hospital before having a heart attack. Colonel Potter was long gone, but he had several grandchildren who had enlisted in the Army and were tributes to the Potter name. All of the nurses he had . . . ah-hem . . . worked with were long since retired. A good number of them were dead.

These were his friends, closer to him than his own family and most he hadn't talked to in a decade.

"Thanks."

Hawkeye whirled around. Xander was leaning against the back of the couch, looking at Hawkeye's pictures over his shoulder.

"Excuse me?" What was he talking about?

"For talking to Ellen." Xander had been eavesdropping. "I hadn't seen the signs. It's odd for a Slayer to show evidence of fear. Sometimes –often- we forget that they are just little girls looking for an end to their war."

What a scary thought! "Is there an end?"

"Yeah," Xander whispered. "Death. A very smart vampire –and I will heartily deny it if you tell anyone I said so- once said that every Slayer has a death wish."

"There's no one to call a truce, negotiate a treaty, no safe zone."

"They are forever outnumbered by the enemy."

Forget Korea, these girls had it worse. There rumors of peace had abounded, these girls didn't even have that slight hope in their future.

Sending II

Word Count: 100

Hawkeye stood in front of his big bay window. The girls were leaving tonight for the long weekend patrol. They were laughing and chatting, but there was a wariness in their eyes that made his chest tighten. Was this what the good commanders had felt as they sent their men off to war? Had they felt that the morning could not come quick enough?

One of the girls stopped at the end of the driveway and waved.

Hawkeye waved back.

The girl, the Slayer, adjusted the chinstrap of her floppy hat and followed her sisters.

Hawkeye prayed for Ellen's safety.


	13. Chapter 13

Speculating IV

Word Count: 150

It was a doctor's worse nightmare.

Especially dreaded when said doctor's primary patients was a group of teen girls.

A pregnancy test in the trash, reading positive.

The question was, what to do? Should he approach Xander? Should he just hang out until he could guess the mother? Or should he make use of the Seer in his guestroom and ask Radar?

At first, he haunted the Girls' House. This one skipped breakfast, but that didn't mean anything since a third of the girls did on any given day, against doctor's loudly expressed orders. That one was mildly ill, but that didn't mean anything since she had been fighting a cold for four months, something magical that Hawkeye couldn't treat. That one had gained a little weight, but around the normal fat storing places, not necessarily the waist.

Why hadn't the girl come to him yet?

Which girl was it?

Spying IV

Word Count: 200

He watched the girls closely for weeks. Hawkeye tried to be available, open and chatty. He tried to catch every one of the girls alone to give them the opportunity to tell him about the baby. None of them did. A couple of them were starting to give him weird looks and avoiding him. Obviously, that plan was backfiring.

So he retreated to his little house and watched from there. Radar gave no indication that he noticed the change in Hawkeye's habits.

One day, he joined Hawkeye at the front bay window to watch the girls leave for the evening patrol.

"You are brooding, according to the girls," Radar said.

Hawkeye whirled his head to look at his short friend. "So?" It was amusing how the cadence and vocabulary of the younger generation seeped into the elder.

"What's wrong?"

Hawkeye confessed. "One of the girls is pregnant and I don't know which one and I'm going to have to tell Xander."

"Oh, is that all?"

This time Hawkeye glared. "I suppose the great Seer from MASH 4077 has seen something in his crystal ball?"

"It's Laura."

"How can you possibly know that?"

"I saw her flipping through your OB/GYN books."

Squeezing II

Word Count: 200

Hawkeye shifted in the comfortable chair in the Girl's House living room. He had been enjoying his nap. What had wakened him?

A furious whisper reached his ears.

"You have to tell Xander."

"I will."

Who were arguing?

"And Doc Hawk. You could tell him and then have him tell Xander."

"I know."

"You have to back off patrols."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes. It's not just you now. You are the oldest here, you are supposed to delegate."

"And who's going to take my patrols? You?" The girl, well if Radar was correct, Laura snorted derisively. "You're barely back on the regular patrol schedule."

Oh. That was Laura and Ellen arguing.

"I can do it. You can't."

"Ellen."

"No. You need to back off patrols and tell Xander and Doc Hawk. Promise me. If you don't tell them, I will."

"Ellen."

"No. Promise me you'll tell them this week –before Friday patrol."

"Ellen."

"Promise me."

There was a steel, the Slayer's backbone, in Ellen's voice that had been missing for a very long time, if she had ever had it. Hawkeye smiled and settled deeper into the chair. With Ellen putting the squeeze on Laura, he wouldn't have to worry.

Sensing

Word Count: 300

"Hey, Doc Hawk, Radar."

The two elderly men looked up from the medical journal they had been arguing over and smiled. They were in the middle of picking a sonogram. Hawkeye finally relinquished the list of models to Radar and offered Xander some coffee.

Xander accepted with a slight nod. His eyes lingered on the sonogram advertisements that Radar would have completely organized before their coffee had cooled now that Hawkeye was out of the way.

Xander found two mugs in the cupboard and set them on the table. Hawkeye filled them to the brim and put cream and sugar on the table. While Hawkeye liked his black, Xander liked to pour in enough sugar to rot a man's teeth.

Finally they sat across from each other. Hawkeye looked into Xander's brown eyes. The physician realized that Xander was scared and barely hid it.

"Who is it?" Xander blurted out.

"What?"

"Radar put in a request for a lot of money and a long list of surgical supplies, more premeditated than ER stuff. You're planning –expecting- heavy-duty trouble."

Hawkeye had always believed in shooting straight with the relatives of patients. "One of your girls is pregnant."

Xander choked on his coffee. He quickly thought through the implications. He frowned at the danger, winced at the Council's reaction and shook his head at the idea of a baby in the Girl's House. "It's Laura, isn't it?"

It was Hawkeye's turn to choke on his coffee. "How the hell did you figure that out that fast?!"

Xander shrugged. "It makes sense," he paused. "Giles is going to have a cow."

Hawkeye snorted and Xander realized what he had said and hurried to correct it.

"I mean, throw a fit, 'cause Giles and a baby cow is a disturbing mental image. And . . . Eewww!"

Swapping

Word Count: 350

Hawkeye drove home from his appointment mad as a hornet. Stupid Tim Cruse. Stupid actor with too much stupid money. Thanks to the high-profile civilian who wanted to see every moment of his child's development, laws had been passed to prevent non-medical personnel from acquiring sonograms.

Even retired doctors.

Hawkeye would have to shell out a lot of money and time in paperwork to declare himself non-retired, which could be a fruitless endeavor, just to get his grubby hands onto a machine that he would only use for one patient.

It had better remain just one patient.

From the damage control the Council was exacting, there should be no more accidental pregnancies.

He hoped.

But he knew that many young female eyes were watching Laura and her pregnancy. They wanted to know if the Council had been telling the truth: could a Slayer lead a semi-normal life that included family?

Hawkeye wanted Laura's baby to make it but he didn't want the other girls to get any bright ideas.

Hawkeye needed that sonogram!

Stupid actor!

He drove into his driveway and saw a moving van blocking the way to his garage. It had to be someone connected to the Council because three of the girls were carefully manhandling the large crate.

Hawkeye's mind flitted to the fact that woman-handling might be a more appropriate word choice.

Radar signed for the crate. Hawkeye backed out of his driveway, let the delivery truck pass and then parked in front of his house.

"Where do you want it, Doc Hawk?" Kathleen asked.

Hawkeye laughed. "What is it?"

"A sonogram," Radar answered. "I swapped with an Army Base for their old one."

Hawkeye wasn't sure if he was astonished or amused. While he might not believe that Radar was a Seer, the smaller man was most certainly King of the Swap Meet.

"What did you have to give them?" Hawkeye asked suspiciously.

Radar grinned. "I talked Klinger into giving a talk to them about the advantages of allowing a soldier to cross-dress in a MASH unit."

Radar definitely came out ahead on that one.


	14. Chapter 14

Speculating V

Word Count: 250

It was in the careful way he walked, as if he were made of glass and the floor was cement waiting for him to fall and shatter. It was in the way he lost his balance, repeatedly, but was never surprised. It was in the way he got out of a chair, slowly and in a series of steps. It was in the way he slept a little more and ate a little less. It was in the way that he lost his train of thought in a middle of a sentence and had forgotten his coffee cup by the TV when he was sure that he had left it in the kitchen.

He hadn't seen it at first, since the girls just naturally took up the slack and put things where they belonged. The girls would get things for him so that he wouldn't have to get up. They were kind like that. He had always moved slower than any of the girls. But then the girls seemed to move even faster. And then he noticed that they, though always careful with their strength, were extra gentle assisting him out of chairs, up the stairs, out of his house, across the yard. It was when he knew that he probably wouldn't make it out of the chair, up the stairs, or across the yard without help.

Were the years truly catching up to him now? Now that he had a purpose in life?

Surely not!

He was not old.

Scaring III

Word Count: 100

"_Doc Hawk!"_

The yell echoed throughout Hawkeye's house. It lifted Hawkeye and Radar right out of their chairs. They knew it was bad news before JM rounded the corner.

"Vamp ambush," she panted. "Several hurt. Laura bad." How fast had JM been running to be breathless?

Hawkeye rushed for the back door. JM would bring his medical bag for him. Most of the stuff he needed would be over at the Girls' House anyway. Radar kept on his heels. He would give first aid to those less hurt.

Oh Laura.

Would she lose the baby?

He had work to do.

Stumbling II

**Warning: Warnings have changed for the story. Character Death **

Word Count: 150

"All done."

Hawkeye stretched and looked around. Every eye in the room was focused on him.

Kate's tears streamed down her face. "Will she be okay?"

"I think so," Hawkeye answered honestly.

"The baby?"

"They're both fighters."

Kate tried to smile. She turned into JM's embrace and sobbed.

"Hey," Hawkeye patted her back. "It'll be okay. You're all back alive."

"You have one more patient Doc." Hawkeye turned to a solemn-eyed Xander. "Ellen's in the basement."

What was she doing there? He wondered as he climbed down the stairs.

He stopped.

Stumbled.

Xander caught him.

Ellen was laid out on a slab. Kathleen was gently cleaning off the blood and grime.

Ellen was clawed, head to toe. She had bled out, long before she had been carried to the Girls' House.

Kathleen removed Ellen's destroyed floppy hat and carefully dabbed off the blood.

Ellen would never patrol in it again.

Saving III

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

"Can you fix her, Doc Hawk?"

Hawkeye turned angry eyes on the younger man. Even he could not turn back Death.

"Make her look . . ." Xander's voice trailed off.

"Not like a demon ripped out her guts?" Kathleen inserted.

"Please?"

Hawkeye had never been asked to do such a thing before. The Army couldn't waste their doctor's time with something so frivolous and in the States that's what the morticians were for.

"Please?"

"I'll need my bag."

Xander left to retrieve it.

Hawkeye had to ask. "What happened?"

Kathleen smiled, sadly. "She took the blow meant for Laura."

"She's the hero."

Stitching II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

Hawkeye stood in the doorway and watched Radar instruct Xander. They were stitching Ellen's floppy hat back together again. Radar's hands shook too much to do it himself.

In, out, Radar would point and then Xander repeated the process.

In.

Out.

They were putting the hat back together in a way Hawkeye could not put Ellen back together.

In.

Out.

No words were ever spoken.

In.

Out.

The hat was a symbol of Ellen's fear.

In.

Out.

She had conquered that fear.

In.

Out.

Was she better off than she had been before?

In.

Out.

Hawkeye hoped so.

In.

Out.

Settling

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

Life flowed on.

Yes, Ellen had died.

Yes, they missed her.

Yes, they would remember her.

But life flowed on.

Hawkeye watched the girls remember that life was short; to treasure the little time they had. They had forgotten that death was forever lurking around the corner. He had forgotten as well. The girls normally bubbled over with life. And soon they would again. For now, they watched the sunset, star-gazed and helped Hawkeye with his rose garden. They partied harder and snitched more gin. Hawkeye turned a blind eye. He had his own way of dealing.

Life flowed on.


	15. Chapter 15

Sending III

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

He was checking in with an old friend. He was not writing an 'in the event of my death' letter. He planned on living for a while now. A decade at least.

So, that was what he told himself as he addressed and stamped the envelope. He grabbed his cane and hobbled out to the end of his driveway. The letter slid into the mailbox and he put up the little, red, rusted flag.

And he tried very hard not to breathe a sigh of relief.

He hobbled back to the house, dropped into his favorite armchair and fell asleep.

Seeking

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 200

Hawkeye answered the phone on the fifth ring. "Hello?"

"Dr. Pierce?"

Who called him 'Dr. Pierce?' "Yes," he said slowly.

"This is Buffy . . . Summers . . . Xander's . . . friend."

"You're in Rome right now."

"Yeah."

"What can I do for you Ms. Summers?"

"Buffy, please."

"Than call me Doc Hawk like the other girls."

Pause.

"Maybe you could call me Hawkeye, since I'm not your doctor?"

"Hawkeye."

"What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering, since you're working out so great and your little friend Sonic–"

"Radar."

"Radar is working out so well, I was wondering if you have other friends we could hire."

"I gave a list to Mr. Giles."

"There weren't any psychologists on it."

Oh.

"I was looking for one and can't find many that we can tell the truth to and those we can't seem to keep for very long before they burn out or run screaming for Holy Ground or both and we need more badly. I think we go through more psychologists than any other company."

That must be the famous Scooby babble Hawkeye had heard so much about.

"Buffy?"

"Yes?"

"I might be able to help you, and if I can't, Radar probably can."

Scoring

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

"Two pair," Xander laid down his five cards proudly. "Queens over fours."

Hawkeye threw his cards at the younger boy. Xander reached for the pot only to be stopped by Radar.

"Straight, ten-high."

Xander turned the pot over to Radar grumbling, "Should know better than to play cards with a Seer."

"Same time next week?" Hawkeye offered.

Xander nodded. "I'm going to need it after the surprise baby shower." He shivered dramatically. "So much estrogen."

Hawkeye laughed. "You're always welcome here. Maybe you'll win the next one. You've only won three of the Wednesday nights."

"You're keeping score?"

"Of course."

Settling II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 200

"Hello?"

"Buffy? This is Hawkeye."

"Wait a minute, Doc Hawk. This is Dawn. _BUFFY_! _Phone_!"

Hawkeye winced at the volume, his hearing certainly hadn't diminished with age.

"Hawkeye?"

"Hi Buffy."

"Wait a minute, let me get to my room."

Hawkeye grinned. She wanted privacy from her sister. He had to take advantage of it. "Are you going to be taking off any clothes?"

Beat.

"Are you a lewd old man?"

"Yes."

She laughed, harder than the joke deserved.

Hawkeye worried. "I don't have good news."

"Can't find Dr. Friedman?"

"Freeman, Sydney. He's dead."

"Damn."

"That will slow you down?"

"_Yes_."

Okay.

Buffy was talking again. "I'm bummed. A psychologist that said 'Ladies and Gentlemen, take my advice. Pull down your pants and slide on the ice' is just the kind of guy we need."

Hawkeye agreed. He found it odd that Buffy couldn't remember Sydney's name but remembered his signature statement.

"What about apprentices?" Buffy asked. "We could settle for someone who learned from your friend."

"He did have a partner."

Buffy mused, "I could try him out."

"Personally?"

Silence.

"Maybe."

"I could listen," Hawkeye offered.

"Doctor those near you, _Hawkeye_. I'll be fine."

But why settle for just 'fine'?

Sending IV

_Warning: Character Death_

Word Count: 100

Busy day.

Weren't they all?

He had confirmed that Laura's baby girl was healthy and growing well. He had stayed off to one side, with Xander and Radar, as the other Slayers had thrown a baby shower. It had been quite amusing. Laura was all set with the car seat, baby carriage, bassinet and highchair.

He had been tired all day. He had found the opportunity to sneak out of the party and come home. He plopped into his armchair, leaned back, put his feet up and fell asleep.

Doctor Benjamin Franklin Pierce, 'just call me Hawkeye,' never woke up.

Screaming IV

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

"_XANDER_! RADAR!"

The two men moved at equal speeds as they hurried out of the Girls House and across the yard to the Pierce household. Many of the girls milling about the first floor followed.

"XANDER! LAURA!"

They could hear tears, panic, and despair in Kate's voice. They rounded the corner to see the youngest Slayer with the elderly doctor in her arms. She held the man out to Xander helplessly.

"He won't wake up!" she cried. She fell to her knees. Tears streamed down Kate's cheeks. Her eyes implored Xander, begging him to change reality. "He won't wake up."


	16. Chapter 16

Streaming

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

Cleveland averaged sixty-six sunny days a year, so why did the day of Doc Hawk's funeral have to have a sun blinding in its intensity, and a slight breeze to make the weather perfect?

Xander knew that he noticed the oddest things at funerals, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from the maple leaves dancing in the sunlight. They made delicate patterns on the grass, the mourners . . . and the casket.

The stream of mourners slowly found places around the gravesite; loathe to let this final act of the Doc's life end.

Why was it sunny again?

Saying

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 200

Xander was surprised when Buffy stepped forward to speak. She had dropped everything to fly in for the funeral of a man she had never met face-to-face. As far as he knew, Buffy hadn't had much contact with Hawkeye. Part of him was furious at Buffy's movement, Hawkeye was _their_ doc, _their_ next door neighbor. _They_ knew him better than Buffy ever would. The other part of him was thankful, he didn't want to speak but someone had to say something to all the mourning Slayers. They would listen to the eldest Slayer and her words.

"Sometimes it's harder when they die of natural things," Buffy said. "Nothing to track, to fight, to beat, to kill, to make vengeance against. When my mom . . . sometimes, it's easier. We all want a life away from it all and what better way than to die apart from the supernatural?" Buffy made a nervous gesture with her hands and then shrugged and backed into the crowd.

Willow leaned towards Xander. "I think . . . she said the mostly right thing."

Xander was surprised. It was the last thing he had expected Buffy say.

But it worked.

Kinda.

Who ever said the perfect thing at a funeral?

Slipping

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 160

The girls were crying harder than at Ellen's funeral and trying harder not to. Xander heard the chorus of sniffles but didn't see many wet cheeks. He did see a lot of eyelashes wet with tears that were not allowed to fall.

Radar cried unashamedly. Xander didn't hide his tears either.

They would miss Hawkeye, his laughter, his indomitable spirit, the way he fought for them, the way he was always on their side. They would remember the way he slipped away.

The service was over.

Half the Slayers were already gone, slipped away while Xander was remembering. He would have to send the few that remained to find the ones that left looking for a fight, or a quiet spot. Each mourned in their own way.

Buffy was staring in the distance, a sad half-smile on her face.

It comforted Xander.

Buffy knew where Hawkeye was now and that it was good.

When had she accepted death like that?

Seeking II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

They were looking for Slayers that had left the funeral early. Xander hurried to keep up with Laura. Even pregnant, she had the Slayer grace that Xander would never gain. He wondered once again who was the father of the baby. None of the other girls had even hinted that they knew. Had Hawkeye known?

Xander sighed and Laura smiled at him.

JM and Kate walked out of the shadows and took flanking posts to protect he and Laura. They looked a little scuffed but in good shape. Two down, five more to find.

Where would they find the others?

Sorting

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

Radar was holding up the best. Radar had lived with Hawkeye; they had fought together, saved together, survived together. He sorted through the mementos. He knew the stories behind this china set or that scalpel. He told the stories to a spellbound audience. The Slayers wrote down the stories.

Hawkeye would have his own journal in the Watcher archives. More than one girl had mentioned that they hadn't known that their elderly neighbor had lived such an interesting life. Hawkeye had left his house to the Council. So they had to clean it out.

What to keep, what to trash?

Settling III

Warning: Character Death

AN:/ This idea is catherinecookmn's that filtered down to me and I thank her. It was perfect way to get the drabble epic back on the fluffy-track.

Word Count: 150

It was bound to happen. Something would happen that would push the Slayers back into their more 'normal' lifestyle.

Not two days after burying Hawkeye, something supernatural came a-knocking and distracted the Slayers and Xander from their mourning.

At least it wasn't an apocalypse, though the jury was still out on whether or not this specter was on the Light Side or the Dark Side.

The ghost had just appeared one morning, berating one of the Slayers for the condition of the medical supply closet. The ghost had such a presence about her that the poor Slayer had tidied the closet before realizing that the ghost could not exact revenge if her order, and yes they were orders, were not carried out to her exact specifications. The see-through woman was determined to get Girls' House into tip-top shape with post haste.

How were they supposed to deal with this now?


	17. Chapter 17

Sorting II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 230

"Your ghost knows that she is a ghost?" Giles queried.

"Yep," answered Xander.

"And she's not violent?"

"Nope."

"Not at all?" Giles looked over his glasses.

Xander shrugged. "Not really, some empty treats, but they barely register on the Slayer Threat Scale. Oh, she mentioned how she loved good leather. She was talking about an ex-fiancé whose best gift to her was a fine leather whip."

"A predilection toward violence," Giles murmured and flipped through another dusty book. "Everyone can see her?"

"Supernatural only, yeah. One of the new girls' parents stopped by and never saw her."

"How curious. But she is bound to the Girl's House," Giles confirmed.

"Actually, no she isn't. She showed up in Wal-Mart when Laura was there buying pre-natal vitamins. She was full of advice and according to Laura, is up to date on the latest medical research."

"Then she's died recently."

"Nope. She hinted that it's been about ten years."

"Bugger," Giles whispered. "She doesn't fit into any of the Watcher's categories for ghosts, specters and other deceased apparitions."

"Does that mean that you don't know how to get rid of her?"

"At this moment."

"Giles," Xander whined, "she's driving us nuts! She wants everything cleaned in a certain way, especially the medical equipment. We don't want to! We want to leave it alone for a while."

"We'll sort it out, Xander. I promise."

Surprising

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 133

"And move that box over there," the ghost ordered the five youngest Slayers.

Kate finally got fed up with all the commands. She dropped the box (in such a way that nothing broke) and crossed her arms across her chest. "Why should we? Doc Hawk liked it this way. I think we should keep it the old way."

The ghost glared and most of the Slayers quailed. "That might be true but you need to look to the future and as good as your previous doctor was, he was horrible at organization."

"You knew Doc Hawk?"

"I worked with him."

"In Korea? Or in the hospital?" asked Kate.

"Yes."

Laura heard the answer and sent JM over to the Pierce house for Radar. They hadn't thought to ask the Seer about their visitor.

Sputtering II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

"Major Houlihan!" Radar shrieked.

The woman-ghost looked rather smug at his reaction.

"You're here? But you're dead and you look pretty and young. Why do you look pretty?"

The ghost frowned and Slayers all around the living room snickered at the hole the elderly man had dug for himself. He had reacted badly to the ghost and had sputtered into incoherency.

Kathleen leaned close to JM. "I didn't know that Radar was that bad with women. How'd he even end up married?"

JM whispered back, "And why did the major let him leave Korea intact?"

That was the true mystery.

Shoveling III

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

When Laura came down the stairs that night, she was met with a familiar smell. That was the fluid –a special Slayer recipe- for sharpening bladed weapons. So when she rounded the corner and walked into the living room, she smiled at the numerous Slayers bending over their work.

Then she realized that they weren't sharpening swords, or knives or any other weapon useful against demons. No, they were sharpening shovels, the weapon of preference against significant others or ex-significant others.

Xander lounged by her side and smirked. "So what's his name, Laura? We have some threatening with shovels planned."

Showing

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 210

Laura Feather took one look in the mirror and immediately changed shirts. Still, she wasn't pleased with her reflection. The bump of her stomach was much too prominent. She might as well put a bull's-eye on her abdomen for the demons. Did she really think this was going to work? Ellen had died for her daughter. How many more would sacrifice for one baby?

In an odd occurrence, her mother had been thrilled to hear that Laura was expecting. They had put their North Dakota ranch up for sale so that they could move to Cleveland to be near their only possible grandchild. Everyone had agreed that Laura and baby would be safest living among Slayers. Thankfully, her parents hadn't asked about the father. Laura didn't even know his name, though she had passed by his apartment last night on patrol and saw that he still lived there. She had only told Xander and the other Slayers the first part though. He had been a generous drunk; he didn't deserve a horde of warriors knocking down his door for knocking up their friend.

Laura sighed at her reflection and decided to steal one of Xander's flannels. He wouldn't mind. It would be warm and comfortable. She needed that right now.


	18. Chapter 18

Surprising II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

Xander answered the front door with a frown. The lady waiting there was too old and too not-cute to be a Girl Scout selling cookies or some other fundraiser. She looked a little too impatient . . . put together . . . to be a Jehovah Witness, but who else would come to the front door instead of the back of the Girl's House?

"Yes?"

"Xander Harris?" A slight twist of her lips indicated true amusement.

"Who's asking?" Xander didn't invite her in.

"Erin Hunnicut, MD. Sorry I wasn't here for the funeral, but I had to tie up loose ends before moving out here."

Saying II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 150

"And why are you here again?" Xander asked in disbelief.

"Uncle Hawkeye, Dr. Pierce, sent for me. He wrote a letter to my dad, saying that he had the perfect job opportunity for me, something to make my retirement interesting."

"And what was the job description?"

"Taking care of you guys."

"Did he happen to mention what we did or why we took advantage of having a doc next door?"

"Nope. Just said that I was needed and asked me to come."

Xander shook his head in shock. "Let me get this straight. A man you've seen maybe thirty times in your life asks you to retire from your hospital job and you just do it?"

"For Hawkeye? Yes. My father would never forgive me if I ignored the . . . request. And I saw Hawkeye more than thirty times in my life. It was almost twice a year ever since Korea."

Showing II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 110

"Doctor Hunnicut! What a pleasure!"

Erin spit out her water all over the table. "Aunt Margaret? You're dead! But you look better that you did when I last saw you!" The girls' jaws dropped. How come this non-supernatural visitor could see their ghost?

Said ghost primped slightly. "I know. Death is the ultimate revitalizer."

Erin looked around with a grin. "Does that mean that Uncle Hawkeye is hanging around here someplace?"

"No," Margaret looked frustrated. "He's still in orientation and the PTB won't let him out until he knows, understands and promises to follow all the rules."

Erin snorted. "That'll take a while. Uncle Hawkeye likes to buck all institutions."

Streaming II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 200

" . . . Here are the bandages, Dr. Hunnicut, and the scalpels, all cleaned to my specifications."

"Which make them cleaner than any ER," Erin interrupted the steady stream of comments with a grin.

Margaret preened. "But of course, Dr. Hunnicut. I wouldn't want you to start your new job with anything less."

"Aunt Margaret, you were there for my graduations and my wedding. You, out of all people, should call me by my given name."

Margaret shook her head. "No, I shouldn't. I'm here to work. You're here to work. There shouldn't be any excess of familiarity on the job."

"Uh-huh," Erin was not convinced. "How many times did you and Uncle Hawkeye get caught in a closet together when you worked in the same hospital?"

The ghost blushed slightly. "We only worked at the same hospital for six months before he moved."

"Dad laughed so hard when he heard the story, but I think that part of him was surprised that you let him out of your sight to a different hospital with pretty nurses."

Margaret shrugged. "Hawkeye liked what he had at home and wasn't willing to risk it. You know, he never cheated on me while we were married."

Surprising III

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 120

"Vampires?" Dr. Hunnicut repeated in disbelief.

The various Slayers nodded. Erin looked at the bent crowbar and the ghost of her 'favorite aunt'. They spoke the truth. It had to be the truth. Uncle Hawkeye wouldn't have asked her to move out here for a house of lunatics. She didn't know what to think, which was probably why she was currently mourning the loss of the crowbar. Her father had given it to her when she had bought her first used car.

Did her dad know? Had Uncle Hawkeye told him what had occupied his final year on earth?

Why wasn't she surprised that Hawkeye had ignored a chance at a restful end to his life to help these girls?

Sorting III

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

Erin brushed a finger over the horrible handwriting. If Hawkeye had really been preparing for a replacement, he would have gotten a scribe. She could barely read the diagnosis in the file. A broken bone, she guessed. Tears filled her eyes and she brushed them away. She would miss her uncle Hawkeye, but it was time to put her emotions to the back of her mind and concentrate on her duties, duties that Hawkeye had asked her to take up.

She would make him proud.

Erin set aside another folder, organizing it to her preferences.

Uncle Hawkeye, I miss you.


	19. Chapter 19

Sensing II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 110

Laura should have figured it out when Radar had arrived early and plopped himself on the living room couch. She should have been suspicious when Xander had sent the younger Slayers on a multitude of chores that took them far away from the Girls' House. She should have been warned when the new doctor had closely examined all the surgical tools that Doc Hawk had left behind. Hell, she should have sensed it when she, Laura Grey Feather, had decided to clean the nursery one last time.

But hell No! It took the first strong contraction for her to know that today was going to be her daughter's birth day.

Scoring II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 190

"I say, nine, what say you, Xander?" asked Kathleen.

Xander smirked. "Nine point two."

The Slayer in the midst of giving birth growled at the two of them.

"I say that you have to rearrange your scale," Dr. Erin said from the foot of the bed. She grinned at the shocked looks the others gave her and shrugged. "The contractions are going to get worse before the baby arrives."

Ghost Margaret poked at the pile of towels waiting for the new arrive and humphed. "Just like your father, always a witty comment in the OR. I don't think these towels are soft enough for a new baby. Radar!"

"Yes, Major?" Radar did not enter the 'delivery room.'

"We need softer towels for the baby."

"Yes, ma'am."

Margaret nodded and turned back to the patient. "Laura, you're doing well."

Laura grinned through the sweat and the pain. "Thanks. Don't mind the scoring, Major Margaret, it distracts . . . Argh!"

"That was a nine point two," Kathleen pointed to the finger indentations in the birthing chair as proof.

Xander agreed and then ducked as Laura tore off the armrest and threw it at him.

Slipping II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 160

"Just one more push, Laura. You can do it," Dr. Erin coached.

Laura swore at her doctor but pushed anyway.

"Here . . . she is, . . .Laura. Your beautiful . . . beautiful baby girl."

Laura grew frightened at the pauses. "Is she okay?"

"She's just . . . fine." Suddenly Dr. Erin's face lit up. "Ready to take her, Xander?"

"Hell, no. I watched her slipping and sliding around in your arms, Dr. Hunnicut. I don't want to drop her."

"Drop her!" Laura shrieked.

"If you drop her, just pick her up," Dr. Erin advised calmly.

"No thanks."

Kathleen peeked at the floor at the foot of the birthing chair. "So that's why you made us put blankets down there. I thought you were just saving time on clean up."

Laura growled. "You thought that you might drop my baby!"

Dr. Erin flushed slightly. "It only happened once. The towels jinx it, I promise."

Laura still glared.

"Babies are slippery. I'm sorry, it's a medical fact," explained Dr. Erin.

Surviving

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 185

Kathleen cleaned the baby, directed by Major Margaret. Dr. Erin cleaned Laura. Xander stood well out of their way mostly useless, until Major Margaret noticed him and sent him scurrying for the baby cleaning wipes. He jogged out of the 'delivery room' and ran into all the Slayers. He guessed that he hadn't been as sneaky as he had thought, sending them out on errands. He gave them all a big smile. "She's good. Both shes are good. They survived just fine, with passing colors even."

Kate threw herself into Xander's arms with a cheer. All the other girls joined in.

JM tugged on Xander's sleeve. "So what did Laura name her?"

"I . . . don't know."

Kate promptly released Xander and shoved him back into the delivery room.

"Ellen Hawk Feather," Laura answered the question before Xander could open his mouth. He grinned. Too cool.

Major Margaret was speechless, thrilled that her husband was going to be remembered. That his late work survived his passing. Then she noticed that Xander was empty-handed. She pointed to the doorway. "We need those wipes."

"Yes, ma'am." Xander obeyed.

Sleeping

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 170

Xander watched Laura and little Ellen sleep in Laura's room. They both slept hard as rocks. They had had a hard day; being born was hard work. They slept as if they knew that they were protected.

And boy, were they ever protected. Two Slayers now stood watch at night, on guard against anything that might attack the Girls' House. Laura would find out about that tomorrow but tonight she slept soundly with her baby.

Xander had been understandably unnerved at the idea of a baby in the Slayer House but looking at the mother and daughter, he knew that it'd be okay. They had just given every single Slayer hope. It was worth it, worth the late night feedings and the smelly diapers.

He yawned and decided that it was time for him to go to bed as well. It was late and the patrolling Slayers would return in a few hours, full of reports that he'd have to transcribe.

But that was okay.

There was Hope for tomorrow.


	20. Chapter 20

Seeking III

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 200

"Xander, have you seen Major Margaret?" asked Kate.

Xander looked up from his desk. It was still odd that Xander had his desk, in his office. He thought about Kate's question. "Nope. Not since yesterday. Check around Ellen or Laura."

"I already did. Not there."

Xander frowned. "She likes to watch the sparring practice."

"Checked there too."

He had a sudden, frightening, thought. "No one else is pregnant, are they?"

"If they are, it hasn't reached the rumor mill."

Xander eyed Kate warily. "Why do you want to talk to Major Margaret?"

She blushed furiously even as she quickly denied his fears. "I'm not pregnant. Promise."

Xander grunted. "You better not be. Did you check the Pierce house?" He let the subject lie. He had a feeling that he really didn't want to know why Kate was seeking out the ghost.

"Yep. Radar was sleeping, which means that he's no fun for the Major."

"Doc Erin?"

"She hasn't seen Major Margaret all day."

"That's odd," Xander mused. "She likes gloating in the doc's successes, especially the awards and certificates, the major conned you girls into putting on the wall."

Kate shrugged.

"Well, keep on looking. I'm sure she's here somewhere."

Sputtering III

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 120

"Let me get this straight," Giles was polishing his glasses. "You lost your ghost Major."

"Yes!" Xander exclaimed.

"And you want me to find her."

"Yes." It really wasn't that hard of a concept.

"How long ago were you asking me for a way to get rid of your specter?"

Xander sputtered a moment. "But that was before we knew that she was sent from the Powers."

"As I recall, you children normally spurn the gifts of the Powers."

"That's 'cause they send crappy gifts," Xander complained. "But we liked Major Margaret. We want her back."

"You can't," said Radar in the doorway.

"Oh?" queried Giles.

He shrugged, still not used to knowing things. "It was her time to return."

Surviving II

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 100

Hawkeye leered at the pretty woman primly sitting on the clouds. "You're Buffy's mother. It's easy to see where she inherited her beauty from."

Joyce Summers sat up straight. "I suffered through my husband's infidelities. What makes you think that I'll be party to another husband doing the same." Her eyes flickered behind Hawkeye and he knew he was in deep trouble.

Sure enough, there stood Margaret. "Did you enjoy being around all those empowered girls, honey?"

She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Joyce stood at her side, in the same pose.

"I should start groveling, shouldn't I?"

Shoveling IV

By PaBurke

Summary: it's the drabble that has ended. Period.

Warning: Character Death

Word Count: 111

"Bored already?"

Hawkeye sent a rakish grin over his shoulder to his wife. "Nah."

Margaret floated next to him and looked in on their special charges. The Slayers in Cleveland were playing in the snow. Laura was watching from the window of the Girls' House with her daughter, Ellen Hawk Feather, in her arms. Xander was shoveling the driveway and grumbling.

"I taught him that," Hawkeye bragged. "You have to lift with your knees, not your back."

Margaret smirked as Xander slipped and fell. Kathleen caught him before he could do any damage to himself and took the shovel away from her Watcher.

"That he knew before I met him though."

**I fin /I**

**B HA! /B **


End file.
